It’s been nearly three months since the operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Dauphin County dropped an eye-popping $50.1 million to win the state’s first mini-casino auction.

Since then, another two auctions occurred without any issues. Then, in the fourth auction, a bid was invalidated and the second-place bidder was awarded. Lastly, the first try at the fifth auction last month did not attract any bids, opening up a subsequent round that started Wednesday with Penn National taking home its second win.

With all that being said, here’s a much-needed overview of how we got here:

In the first auction, held Jan. 10, Penn National submitted the winning bid of $50.1 million, besting three other bidders and selecting a 15-mile circle centered on Yoe, York County, where it can build its mini-casino. The location will allow Penn National to protect Hollywood’s customer base to the south while also drawing new consumers from nearby Maryland. For the full story, click here.

The second auction, held Jan. 24, was won by Stadium Casino LLC, a joint venture between The Cordish Cos. and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment that also is building the $600 million Live! Hotel & Casino Philadelphia. Stadium Casino won with a bid of $40.1 million, beating out three other bidders and choosing the coordinates of Derry Township, Westmoreland County. A mini-casino within 15 miles of Derry — near Greensburg and about a 50-minute ride from Pittsburgh — will heat up the western Pennsylvania gambling market. For the full story, click here.

The western Pennsylvania theme continued in the third auction, held Feb 8. The operator of Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County won with a bid of $21,188,888.88, besting competing bids from Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem and Parx Casino in Bucks County. Mount Airy selected the location of New Castle, Lawrence County, which shares a border with Ohio and has been trying to lure a casino for about 14 years. For the full story, click here.

Things got interesting in the fourth auction, held Feb. 21. That’s when Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem appeared to win with a bid of $9.9 million. But victory was short, because Sands’ selected location of Hempfield Township, Mercer County, intruded upon the zone already reserved two weeks earlier by Mount Airy. A source later told The Morning Call that a mini-casino was originally discussed as part of Sands’ agreement with Wind Creek Hospitality, which is buying Sands Bethlehem for $1.3 billion. For the full story on Sands’ invalidated bid, click here.

So, the next day, the only other bidder in the fourth auction was announced as the winner. Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment bid $8.1 million and selected the coordinates of South Newtown Township, Cumberland County, for its planned mini-casino, which could potentially take some business from Hollywood Casino. For the full story, click here.

The state’s lucky streak of receiving bids ended on March 9, when the fifth auction concluded with no bids received. That prompted the state to announce a subsequent round of auctions, open to the state’s smaller casinos — Valley Forge Casino Resort and Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin — along with previous auction winners.

The fifth mini-casino auction — technically subsequent auction No. 1 — was originally supposed to be held March 21, but weather conditions and consequent travel complications pushed the auction to April 4.

That led to Penn National’s second win on Wednesday. Penn National bid $7,500,003 to win the fifth auction and reserved a 15-mile radius around West Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, a zone that encompasses downtown Reading, as well as parts of the Lancaster and Morgantown area. While Penn National hasn’t yet decided on an exact location, a mini-casino in that zone will protect its Hollywood Casino while also penetrating deeper into the western Philadelphia suburbs. For the full story, click here.

The next public auction is slated for 10 a.m. April 18. The gambling expansion law allows for the creation of up to 10 mini-casinos across the state, with each facility able to offer up to 750 slot machines and, after a $2.5 million fee, up to 30 table games initially.